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$500K grant to help finish Madcap theater upgrades

Bowdeya Tweh , btweh@enquirer.com
5:21 p.m. EDT March 13, 2014

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John Lewandowski, artistic director of Madcap Puppets, and puppet Smudgella stand inside a Westwood building on March 13, after the city of Cincinnati announced it would grant $500,000 to help complete building renovations. The renovations will help Madcap develop a 200-auditorium and exhibition space for shows. Amy Strickland of Cincinnati performs as Smudgella.(Photo: The Enquirer/Bowdeya Tweh)Buy Photo

Mayor John Cranley said Thursday the city of Cincinnati will provide $500,000 to help Madcap Puppets complete building renovations for its theater and offices in Westwood.

With the renovations, Madcap would serve as an anchor in plans to develop Westwood Square and support Henke Winery, Broadhope Art Collective and other neighborhood attractions.

Madcap's leader, John Lewandowski, said the first and second floors of the Madcap Center for Puppetry Arts will feature a nearly 200-seat auditorium, refreshment area, exhibit hall, community education space and staff offices. Basement space will be used for construction and costuming workshops for the public and storage.

Cincinnati is giving a Westwood puppet theater money to complete building upgrades.

"This will be a unique destination here in Westwood, where tens of thousands of family members will come, see shows, build puppets, (and) visit our puppet exhibit," said Lewandowski, who has been artistic director since 2006.

Jerry Handorf, a Cincinnati native who worked with Muppets creator Jim Henson, and Beth Kattleman founded Madcap in 1981. The collective blends puppetry and stage acting in performances for children locally and on tours around the country.

Lewandowski said construction should begin by late spring and be complete in about a year. A limited number of events and programs will be held at the building over the next year.

At one point, Madcap considered leaving the neighborhood to find a larger space. It struck a partnership with the Westwood Community Urban Redevelopment Corp., which secured a city grant in January 2012 to buy the former Cincinnati Bell building at Harrison and Urwiler avenues on the theater's behalf.

However, raising enough money to retrofit the building has been a challenge, said WestCURC board member John Eby. The building needs repairs including those to make it compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

"It's amazing – the fact that we would have our own performance space," said Madcap performer Amy Strickland, 25, of Cincinnati. "If we want to do a show, someone has to book us."

This weekend, the collective will perform two shows each on Saturday and Sunday at the Cincinnati Art Museum.

If Madcap is able to bring 50,000 people a year to Westwood as anticipated, Eby said it would give the neighborhood plenty of chances to make good impressions on visitors. Eby called the current developments in the business district part of a "once-in-a-generation" opportuntiy in Westwood.

The business district stretches about a half-mile, from Kling and Harrison avenues and along Harrison to the Cheviot border.

"It's going to bring some super, real energy around the business district," Eby said. "We want people in our community. We want them seeing how nice it is. We see Westwood being the place to live, work, worship, shop and play."